I moved to Somerville a month and a half ago, and one could say that I’m still acclimating to my new surroundings. Having come from Downtown Boston - with a brief pitstop in Central Square - there are so many things about Somerville that I don’t see myself getting used to. Nature and an unanticipatedly lengthy commute are just a couple.
But neither of these can compare to what I discovered last night. While mulling over my transportation options for making the third journey of the day from Somerville to the center of the city, the gravity of my recent relocation set in. I realized that Somerville, compared to other portions of Greater Boston, is kind of a service app wasteland.
Good luck finding a ride
I was trying to request first an Uber and then a Lyft. Yes, these companies technically service Somerville, but all available drivers were 18 to 20 minutes away from my house. By the time a car would have arrived, I’d already be a couple of minutes late to where I was going.
So I started to look into Bridj, seeing if this bus-share service would be a better option. Negative. Bridj doesn’t even come to Somerville. At that point, I wasn't even going to give Fasten a try.
My frustration began to snowball into an active search for other apps enjoyed by most Bostonians, but are off limits to us Somerville inhabitants. I came to find that some of the most popular apps out there offer services that are either highly limited or entirely unavailable to folks living in my area.
Don't think about having errands run
So many of my friends have been talking about Favor, an app that has someone pick up whatever obscure item you may need and deliver it to you. I often have a running list of things I’ve been meaning to grab - eggs, toothpaste, paper towels - and Favor would be a life-saver.
However, the app won’t be helping me out at the present moment. When I logged into the Favor app, it detected where I was located from my phone’s GPS. I was instantly shot down with a message telling me I was in a non-service area. At least I was able to peruse all of the wonderful goods I couldn’t have delivered through the app…
After making a mental note to try Favor-rival Postmates later, I then moved on to NimNim, which provides pick-up and drop-off dry cleaning services. I’m really bad when it comes to dry cleaning - so bad, that I totally disregard “dry clean only” tags on my clothing. I’ve managed to destroy a handful of pricey pieces, so I’ve vowed to be more vigilant. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to take the easy way out because NimNim isn’t touching Somerville yet, either.
Booze delivery takes time and will cost you
Drizly has been a staple app whenever I’m downtown at a friend’s house and we’re too lazy to go to the liquor store. The alcohol delivery service is available in Somerville, but it sucks. There was one so-called “nearby” store, which was in Kendall Square and had a limited selection of steeply priced adult beverages.
To test it out, I bought a nice bottle of vermouth that I knew I’d sip on eventually. It took an hour when it normally takes about 30 minutes downtown - the latter being on a Saturday night.
Somerville shouldn't be second-rate
I don’t want people to get the impression that I’m hating on Somerville. Davis Square is a great time, and I now live in a quaint, quiet neighborhood. And it does have access to every food delivery service imaginable, so no complaints there. That said, in terms of most handy apps, it still seems to lag behind the rest of Boston.
It’s understandable that startups can’t tackle an entire metropolis at once, and they have to prioritize different phases of their customer acquisition. But they’re missing huge market potential by treating Somerville like an afterthought. Tufts - which is full of eager students who could easily and inexpensively be converted into customers - is the center of Somerville. So start giving it a little more love, startups.
Image on file.
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